An Edd in my Corner
by Baron899
Summary: Kevin and Edd have seen each other through great tragedy in their short time together. As all seems to appear hopeless, Kevin finds himself offered an opportunity from an unlikely source. But will Kevin and Edd be able to make it through a hardship like this, or find themselves out for the count?
1. Humble beginnings

Well hello there. I've had the idea for this story for a while and the first few chapters I've had down for a few weeks now, I'm hoping ill be able to keep this one and my others going on a more regular basis. I'm trying to work my way out of the rut I've been in with my other stories. But anyway I really hope you guys enjoy this and I cant wait to hear what you all think. I was planning to post the next chapter next week but depending on the response I can have it up sooner. Love you guys. :)

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Kevin stared at the ground, lost in thought. The memory of what had transpired only an hour ago still fresh in his mind. As the water spraying from the rusted shower head poured over his red locks, he could still hear his boss's voice.

"Look Kev, I'm sorry, I mean my hands are tied."

"Are you kidding me Murphy?! I'm the best goddamn mechanic you've got out there!"

"Yeah and you're also my most recent hire. I told you when you started this was a temporary thing, if it worked out we would keep you on. And guess what, it hasn't worked out."

The gruff manager sat behind his desk looking down at the stack of invoices before him, not looking up to see the fuming red head only feet from him. Kevin's fists became so tight he felt as though his knuckles would come out of socket, containing himself as best he could he turned to leave the room only to feel a rough and calloused hand on his shoulder.

"Kev…look, I'm sorry alright. I took you on because I know the situation you're in and…well I guess I owed it to your dad. This isn't personal kid. If you ever need anything, my doors open."

Kevin shrugged the man's hand away before he spoke to him over his shoulder.

"I don't need your charity Murph…I need work. I'll make sure to say hey to pops for you."

Anger loomed heavily in the red heads voice as he walked out of the auto shop. Two trains and a bus ride later, he walked a few blocks to find himself standing before the gates of Peach City Cemetery. The former athlete made his way across the grounds coming to rest in front of a black almost mirrored headstone. He stared at the name chiseled across it for what seemed like an eternity as his hands rested in his pockets. Finally, after some time he managed to bring himself to speak, he always felt strange when he came here. He knew he was just speaking to a slab of stone, but somehow it brought him a sense of peace. His voice still hoarse from his previous anger he forced his thoughts to voice themselves.

"…how you been ol' man?"

"Kevin?"

Kevin's eyes shot open as he heard the soft voice he had come to love so much echo through the apartment. Ordinarily the sound would bring him relief after a long day but today, all he felt was dread. This would be the fifth job Kevin had lost in the past six months.

"How the hell am I going to tell him."

Kevin ran his hand through his hair and looked up at the cracked ceiling. He really couldn't understand how Edd had brought himself to be okay with living in a place like this. The bathroom tile was chipping, all of the walls had turned a sickly brown color from previous residence smoking inside, and holes and ripping wallpaper adorned the walls. Really the only thing in the entire unit that was definitely clean was a brand new mattress atop the old creaky bedframe. Edd had insisted on replacing it once they had moved in and Kevin had been in full agreement. But even with all of this the sock head forced himself to endure the unsanitary conditions, and if that didn't help Kevin realize just how much he meant to the raven haired intellectual then nothing would. He sighed hearing his name called again.

"In here babe."

The door to the bathroom opened slowly as Kevin moved the curtain slightly so as to see his dork poking his head in the steam filled room. It amazed him that even after all this time together he could still so easily bring a light blush to the sock heads face. Although from Edd's point of view it actually made perfect sense, opening the door upon returning home to find a well-toned, former multi-sport athlete in a steamy shower would be enough to make anyone blush…right?

"Oh, your home early. Did something happen at work?"

The jock's muscles all seemed to tense at once, he had no clue where his words came from as he calmed himself as best he could to not appear suspicious.

"Not really, just a slow day. Murph decided to cut me loose for the afternoon."

He hated lying to Edd but he couldn't bring himself to tell him what had happened. Not yet.

"That's odd, will you still be going in tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, same time."

Edd gave Kevin a slightly confused look, the red head had never been sent home early before. But giving it some thought it didn't seem like the most far-fetched thing in the world.

"Alright."

Edd stepped into the room and placed a gentle kiss on his red heads lips before calling out as he left, moving into the kitchen.

"I just came from the store, I found a place that was a bit less expensive so we may be able to make it last for a while longer. What would you like for dinner?"

"Anything's fine baby."

Kevin placed a hand on the tile wall in front of him as his mind raced. How long would that food really last, the lights? Gas?

"Just have to stay afloat for a little while longer…..I hope."


	2. A Chance Meeting

Another 4am post...maybe one day ill sleep like a normal person. Anyway the plot thickens with a look into Edd and Kevin's past. I'm glad to hear you guys are liking where this is going.

I do not own any characters from Ed, Edd, and Eddy, only the plot.

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A Chance Meeting

Kevin sat with his elbows on his thighs, his fingers running over the small silver crucifix at the end of the black beaded rosary in his hands. Kevin had long since given up the catholic faith, even before he met Edd. The sock heads story was rather similar to Kevin's, his parents attended the 7:30 am mass every Sunday and his mother was deeply involved in the churches outreach programs. Edd on the other hand had always held his own doubts, he would have considered himself an agnostic rather than a theist. Eventually, as he grew older, he found it impossible to follow in his parents way of thinking and abandoned the faith all together. But even without his faith he never went anywhere without his mother's rosary. Being so involved in the community as well as being so successful in their work, Edd rarely was afforded the opportunity to spend any extended time with his parents. But there was one day that his mother made it a point to set aside time to speak with her son, it was then that she first put the religious symbol around his neck. The beads were a black mirror finish held together by a silver chain, and a crucifix of the same material hung at the end. She told him that it had been passed down through her family for many generations, and now she had given it to him. Edd was speechless, he may not have held the object in the same spiritual regard as his mother, but he was touched she had entrusted him with it all the same. He saw it as more of his good luck charm than anything, and who could blame him. The very next week he was knocked to the ground on the way to one of his classes, he was still struggling to make sense of the college campus he now found himself on and found himself paying more attention to the map of the school rather than the solid wall of muscle coming around the corner from the other direction. Apologies reverberated in the air as Edd raced to collect his dropped books. He felt as though he were on the verge of a panic attack until pale blue met a deep green, his heart fluttered as the boy's smile forced all anxiety from Edd's mind. The red heads attempts to coax a word out of Edd proved futile. He couldn't understand why but there was something about him, an innocence he found himself drawn to. Being the cocky shit he had a habit of being be tore a small piece of paper from the sock heads notebook and wrote his number down before sliding it into the still tongue tied Ed boy's shirt pocket and giving him a sly wink. After handing the seemingly dazed boy his books he stood and threw his bag over his shoulder as he walked away. Finally regaining his composure Edd removed the note he had been left,

"Give me a call if you feel like finishing this exciting convo. later. 803-2716.

-PS. You're cute when you blush. ;)"

Edd pressed his back to the nearby wall, clutching the note in one hand and the crucifix in the other, a smile adorned his still pink cheeks as he tried to force himself to stand and at least attempt to make it to his next class. Despite Kevin's slight lack of grammar, the chance meeting lead to a first date which lead to something that Edd had never known that he had been missing. The following two years were the best Edd could remember. But good things do not come into our lives without testing us. Not long after the beginning of their junior year Kevin found himself in the lowest point he had ever been before, Edd stayed by his side every step of the way. As he wiped tears from his loves face he gently pressed his forehead to Kevin's. slowly he slid his prized position over the jocks neck, Edd quickly stopped the boy's protests. The trinket had not only brought him luck, it had brought him the most precious thing in the world, and Edd only hoped that it would bring the person he cared for most in this world the same comfort, and the same good fortune it had granted him. These memories, among others, passed through Kevin's mind as he ran his thumb gently over the beads of the rosary. The only sound to be heard was a clock hanging on the wall behind a middle aged man at a desk staring back at Kevin. The red head took a deep breath and forced himself to speak.

"More about me…okay. My name is Kevin Barr, up until around eight or nine months ago I was a student Peach City University headed for an engineering degree with a minor in auto mechanics. My boyfriend Eddward Vincent was going to PCU as well for his medical degree. A decent portion of my tuition was paid from my basketball scholarship, whatever wasn't covered my father took care of. With as hard as Edd and myself were studying plus my responsibilities to my athletics, there wasn't very much time to work outside of school. Everything was going fine, until about a year ago. I still remember the call I got an hour or so after my dad got back from the ER. His cough had gotten worse; I mean it had been bad for a while. Two packs a day will do that to you I guess…and it finally caught up with him. He beat the doctor's estimates, pops always was a fighter, but…anyway. After he was gone, I went back to school. But I just couldn't pull myself back, my grades slipped, my coaches noticed me slacking at practice…I was a wreck. Eventually they pulled my scholarship all together. The old man had left me what he could after he was gone but there was no way it was getting me through another two years of tuition. Eventually we had to reach out, that's when Edd took me back to peach creek…to meet his parents. We had been together for nearly two years at this point but I had never met them before, and to be completely honest, Edd hadn't exactly been as honest as he liked to be about his "interests" with his parents. I won't go into details about what exactly happened but uh…let's just say I won't be showing up for any thanksgiving dinners. It wasn't long after that, that they stopped funding Edd's tuition. So that brings us to now. In the past six months since we were forced to leave school just to keep our heads above water, I've had five jobs and every single one has kicked me to the curb. I'm not saying any of this to try and get charity, I don't want charity, I need work. I'm saying all of this to put my exact situation in perspective for you, I'm not some kid sitting here looking for a summer job, I'm the guy with rent to pay this month before his very temperamental super busts down the door and kicks him and his boyfriend out onto the street. Literally anything you need, I can get it done. Please…"

A fan rotated over head as the man that sat behind the oak desk in front of Kevin read over his resume, taking the red heads story in. Kevin glanced around the room now and then, the off white color of the walls had already begun to give him a headache as he sat, in the poorly upholstered chair in the center of the room. Eventually the manager took a deep breath and placed his glasses to one side as he looked back up to the man before him.

"I appreciate you coming in, and I empathize with what you're going through son."

Kevin's shoulder immediately sank; he had heard this far too many times already.

"But we just don't have any openings now. I have your number and I can put in a few calls to other places that may be looking on your behalf, but that's all I can do. I'm sorry Mr. Barr, I hope you have better luck in the future."

Kevin slowly stood and shook the man's hand, thanking him for his time. Stepping out of the building and back out onto the street he was met by a gentle breeze moving through the tall buildings that surrounded him. This made four interviews today all with the same result. Kevin felt exhausted but he forced himself to move down the sidewalk as he slid the beads back around his neck and dropped them under his shirt. He had heard about another place that may be looking for some part time work. His eyes stayed mostly to the ground as his thoughts began to overwhelm him, after a few blocks he almost thought he could hear his name but between the noise of the crowd around him and his own internal thought process it did not register.

"Hey, shovel chin!"

Kevin's head whipped around, he hadn't been called that in years, and only one person had ever used that idiotic name to refer to him. After scanning the crowd Kevin's forest green eyes came to rest on a familiar face, one that he had not thought about in quite some time. He couldn't help but crack a smile as he stepped toward his old…friend?

"Well…how you been dorky?"

Eddy stood in a surprisingly well tailored black suit with a baby blue dress shirt and pocket square without a tie. The ordinarily easily annoyed Ed boy scoffed slightly at the old term of endearment and after staring down the tall read head for a while, finally extended his hand. The two had spent much of their time hating each other after first meeting not long after Kevin and Edd had begun dating. Eventually, with a bit of help, the two realized that their affection for Edd far outweighed their distaste for each other. Eddy had been one of Edd's best friends since childhood. He may have been a bit of an ass, but if the red head made him happy, the former scrooge of the cul-de-sac would grin and bear it. As Kevin shook the hand extended to him Eddy spoke up again.

"Better than you by the looks of it."

Kevin stared back in surprise. He hadn't noticed the bags under his eyes and, although it was slight, his clothes were noticeably well worn. He couldn't remember when he or Edd had been clothes shopping. He composed himself and did his best to play the situation off.

"You wish Skipper."

Kevin let out a slight chuckle as Eddy bit his lip trying to keep himself composed. He had become used to Kevin's jabs but his dreaded middle name was still a bit of a soft spot for him. But today his curiosity outweighed his insecurities.

"How's the sock head these days?"

"He's doing alright. He'll freak when I tell him I bumped into you."

"What are you two doing these days anyway? I haven't heard from Double D in months. I mean you guys are still at PCU right?"

Kevin's eyes quickly shot down to the grey concrete of the sidewalk.

"Look man, I got to get going. I'll let Double D know you said hey alright. Take care."

As the red head turned to leave Eddy quickly stepped in his path putting a hand in his chest.

"Whoa slow down there red, I just asked if you were still at the school, what's the big deal? What did that scholarship of yours get pulled or something?"

Eddy's slight laughter at his own joke slowly faded along with his light hearted smile as he saw the jocks face being taken over by a look of utter disgust. Suddenly the weight of what he had just said hit him like a freight train. He gripped the bridge of his nose and let out a deep breath.

"Oh shit Kev, look I-I didn't know man…I'm s- "

"You really want to know since your so damn curious? Fine! My scholarship covered most of my tuition, what it didn't my dad chipped in for. Until last year when they found his cancer. After he was gone I couldn't find work, my grades slipped and they pulled my scholarship. When Edd went to his parents to ask for help they kicked him out for, and I quote, "engaging in such unnatural activities, and with someone so beneath him no less." With no help to be found we both had to leave. I've worked five jobs in the past six months and we are barely making ends meet, I'm out looking for work while Edd thinks I'm still working at a garage because I can't bring myself to tell him I'm out of work again, does that about spell it out for you Skipper?!"

The red head pulled his hat from his head and ran his fingers through his hair just trying to compose himself before he made even more of a scene in the middle of the street. As he paced back and forth across the sidewalk Eddy grabbed hold of his arm.

"Look you need cash right?"

Kevin snatched his arm back and shoved the shorter boy back slightly

"I don't need your damn charity."

"I'm not offering it shovel chin. But I might be able to show you a way to earn."

The red head eyed him up and down.

"How?"

As he straightened his jacket Eddy motioned for Kevin to follow him as he began to move through the crowd.

"I'll explain when we get there. You can thank me later."

The jock scoffed as he began to follow his old nemesis. He wasn't entirely sure that he trusted the scheming Ed boy's intentions but he knew that if there was any chance to make some money, he couldn't pass it up. He would do what he had to, to make sure that his raven haired love was cared for. So as the noise of the crowd engulfed them, the two moved towards unknown possibilities.


End file.
